Playing With Fire
by ILoveChocolateBrownies
Summary: Alex and some of his school year are sent to Brecon Beacons as part of a new government initiative. Between extra training with K-unit and deceiving his classmates, Alex soon finds that he is trapped, and time is slowly ticking away... DISCLAIMER: I do not own Alex Rider.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Scorpia

As they walked into the auditorium, Alex immediately sensed something was wrong. He scanned the room, noting the teacher's tense body language and the hushed voices of the students. This put Alex's senses on high alert, ready to attack at the slightest hint of danger. It took all of his control not to run away.

The students settled into their seats, and the main speaker walked to the front. Alex watched in suspicion as the deputy head of MI6 started to talk. "I am talking to you today," Mrs Jones said, "as part of a programme to help the younger generations understand some of the threats we are faced with in the current times."

There were suddenly many whispers in the room, but Alex ignored them. He wondered what MI6 were doing in his school, as they never did anything without an ulterior motive. He had been manipulated too many times before to believe that this situation was a coincidence.

The whispers ceased as Mrs Jones continued, the students now paying full attention. "I am talking about Scorpia," she said, and the screen above displayed the image of a scorpion. Alex however, turned pale at this new turn in events, terror piercing his eyes, before he locked everything away behind a mask of steel, hiding his fear. Why did it have to be Scorpia? Surely there was another organisation that was more important for the students to worry about? Unfortunately, Alex knew that this was not true. Having faced Scorpia before, Alex knew there was no group more terrifying - he just wished that he didn't have to stay and listen to the descriptions of the people in his nightmares.

Tom noticed Alex's reaction, but only knew a small amount about why his best friend was acting this way. As far as he knew, Alex had managed to bring down one of their operations a while ago, and this meant that they would apparently always be looking for him, to get their revenge. Tom guessed that Alex had good reason to look so afraid.

Mrs Jones carried on with her presentation, and displayed some of the heads of Scorpia on the screen, whilst telling the students a little about each. With a sinking heart and growing dread, Alex recognised all of the faces shown, trying to lock away the unpleasant memories that this particular talk was dredging up. Forcing himself to concentrate, Alex pulled himself away from past. He didn't like to think about what was coming next.

In the pause before the next part of her speech, Mrs Jones swept the room with her observant eyes. Most of the students were looking subdued and slightly frightened, which was the purpose of this talk. However, there was also a group of boys at the back of the auditorium who thought Scorpia was very funny and who were cracking jokes about some of the assassins. Mrs Jones flinched and thought that they were very lucky that these particular assassins could not hear them right now, otherwise they would be in for a huge shock. Glancing around again, the woman saw Alex. He had a completely blank face, showing no emotion and Mrs Jones almost cracked when she saw what MI6 had turned the boy into. She had always felt guilty for using Alex, but then he was so good at his work that it would be criminal not to put his talents to good use. Unfortunately, Mrs Jones had a feeling that Alex would not like the next part of her presentation even more.

Sighing mentally, the deputy head of MI6 pressed a button on her remote and the screen above her turned blank as she continued with her speech. "However," the woman said, "Scorpia are not as large a threat as they were before." Muttering broke out amongst the teenagers and Alex glared at Mrs Jones in complete and utter fury, venom in his eyes, as he could see where this next part was leading. But Mrs Jones carried on. "An MI6 agent has recently managed to foil two of their operations, at great personal expense." This announcement brought a tide of rapid whispers into the room, as everyone digested the news.

Alex was frozen. Great personal expense? He felt white hot anger brewing inside him. No one knew just how much he had sacrificed on those missions. No one except him. Beside Alex, Tom watched as his friend visibly started seething. Tom was now extremely worried at what his friend would do if this went on for much longer.

"Any questions?" Mrs Jones asked, and this snapped Alex out of his furious thoughts, having completely missed the last part of her speech. One boy up his hand laughing and said, "What is this so called 'super spy's' name?" Everyone could hear the mocking tone in the boy's voice, and they waited in silence for the woman to answer. However, before she could, they heard a low voice, dripping with acid, replying, "What would you care?"

Everyone looked around for the mysterious speaker, and Alex, who hadn't realised he said his thought aloud, panicked. This was the final straw for his tensed muscles, and before he knew it, he was running out of the auditorium and out of the school, his mind in a frenzy.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: 10 Names

Alex thought he had escaped - until he ran straight into the MI6 agents guarding the door from the outside. He groaned inside his head, while hoping that he wouldn't have to fight his way out of this mess. It would provoke too many questions and there was still the chance that people may hear him from the auditorium. At least he was out of the room.

The MI6 agents took a closer look at Alex. They had been ordered to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the room, as the deputy head of MI6 could not go around unguarded. It was rare to even see Mrs Jones outside of the MI6 headquarters, and to go to a school? However it was not their place to ask questions, and all they needed to do was follow orders. Even if they were a little strange.

But, the boy that had just crashed into them though - there was something not right about him. For starters, he had just ran out of the room, and that was not normal, because people did not usually run out of assemblies mid-way through. But there was something else as well. He seemed on edge, as if he was expecting an attack at any moment - the agents did not need a guide on teenagers to know that this was most definitely not normal. It was weird. Everyone at 'the bank' had a similar look and edge in their eyes, and this boy reminded them of other agents.

Their leader snapped into action, deciding that whoever this boy turned out to be, at the moment he was presenting a real threat to their safety. Even if it was because he had them spooked. "You are under arrest," he barked.

Alex heard his rights repeated to him as his hands were handcuffed behind his back. It was lucky he had decided not to fight, as the agents would not stand a chance. He would have liked to see their faces when a teenager beat them though. It would have been very amusing to say the least. Alex figured he would get to the bank more quickly if he was under arrest, rather than having to wait out the entire school day, but the routine was still tiresome - especially because he knew that he could get out of this situation quickly and easily if he wanted to, and no one would have a chance of catching him. Alex knew it would never go on his criminal record anyway, so he may as well get the free lift.

* * *

After Alex had ran out, the students immediately started talking, sharing suspicions and theories about the mysterious boy. He was always missing school, and had virtually no friends, except Tom. Apparently his immune system was very weak, but who expected them to believe that story? It was the oldest excuse in the book when it came to getting out of school. The noise level in the room rose higher and higher, until Mrs Jones couldn't bear it anymore. She called for quiet, and the room was silent, everyone hoping that they would get an insight or explanation on what just happened.

"As part of this new programme," the woman said, ignoring the expectant faces wanting gossip, "Ten of you will get the chance to train with the SAS for two weeks."

Instantaneous mutterings broke out across the room. Mrs Jones surveyed the reaction, and most of the students looked as if they wouldn't mind going on this trip. That was good, because they wouldn't exactly have much of a choice if their name was on her list. She wasn't sure if the SAS would take the intrusion of the teenagers so easily, but that was another argument for another time. She had to get through Alex first, and he was not going to be happy. Not one bit.

The woman started talking again. "These names have been randomly picked, and anyone chosen will need to return the signed permission slips from your guardians in two days from now. The coach will pick you up from school on Monday, and you will travel to Wales from there. Any further questions I will answer in a meeting later." Mrs Jones drew an envelope from her bag and called ten names. "Amy Reid, Tom Harris, Katy Satoy, Oscar White, Alice Petit, Robin Davies, Sophie Lewis, Edward Jones, Daisy Miller and Alex Rider."

Everyone was slightly shocked when they heard the last name. Alex Rider? The same boy that just stormed out a minute ago? It didn't make sense but no one dwelled too much on it. Adults never liked to be questioned when they thought they had a winning idea, and everyone had learnt to just go along with it if it didn't affect them. The teenagers that were picked were mostly happy and amazed at their luck. Not only was it two weeks off school, but it sounded like a fun adventure holiday AND it was free!

However, Alice was surprised that she got chosen (when were things like this ever random?) and also unsure. This 'golden opportunity' seemed too good to be true. And what if they found out her secret?


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for all of the reviews :)**

* * *

Chapter 3: Un-Arrested

"I'm doing what?" Alex exclaimed.

"You are going to Brecon Beacons for additional training with nine of your school friends." Mrs Jones repeated wearily.

"They're not my friends," Alex muttered sulkily.

The two were now finally in her office. When Mrs Jones came out of that school auditorium, and saw Alex handcuffed, she thought she was going to lose it there and then. The boy had a real talent for making her life as tricky as possible. And it didn't help that he had a huge smirk on his face for the entire journey to the bank, after Mrs Jones had reassured the agents that "no, Alex didn't mean any harm," and "he needs to come with me now anyway," after which came to answer to the resulting questions - "I'm afraid that's classified." She was sure that Alex knew the amount of trouble he was causing, but Mrs Jones was also certain that he never would stop being deliberately annoying. MI6 had given him more than enough trouble in his life and Alex was always out to get revenge on them for their past actions.

"Won't that blow my cover?" Alex asked.

"You are going under the pretence of an exciting opportunity-" Alex snorted "-provided by the government. A chance to train with the SAS." The woman promoted.

"Yippee, just what I always wanted!" Sang Alex. The last time he had gone to this particular training camp, it had been a complete nightmare. The toughened soldiers had bullied him unmercifully, while he was trying to learn the skills that he would need to survive the dangerous missions that MI6 would send him on later. He had come back from the camp battered and bruised from head to toe, and Alex had vowed never to return if he could help it. The annoying thing was, Alex suspected that he had no choice in the matter, because he never did with MI6. He decided to try just in case. "And what if I refuse?"

As Mrs Jones started to answer, Alex already knew he was doomed. Who was he fooling? MI6 always got what they wanted, and no one ever stood in their way. Just the fact that the woman in front of him had an answer meant that he was probably about to be blackmailed or forced into doing what she had planned. Though in his heart Alex wanted to keep resisting, he knew that he would never win.

"Fine," Alex said, cutting Mrs Jones' speech off mid flow. "But what am I telling the other kids going with me?"

"That's up to you."

"Great!" Alex made to get up and walk out of the door.

"Alex, one more thing." Mrs Jones called him back. "You will be having additional training with K-unit every day while you are at Brecon Beacons. You will receive your schedule when you arrive."

"Well that's just absolutely fantastic!" Alex said sarcastically as he escaped the room. Mrs Jones sighed. Alex was clearly against this extra training but she suspected that it may do him more good than he realised. It felt harsh, but she knew that the knowledge Alex would gain in Wales may save his life later in a future crisis. He would thank her one day. Eventually.

* * *

Alex pedalled his bike through the streets, furious at what he had been forced to agree to. He was going back to Brecon Beacons! Even he hadn't seen that coming at the start of the day.

He arrived home and was ready to break the news before he remembered. _She_ was dead. Alex forced himself to forget at school, because he could not afford to be weak in front of other people, but as soon as he got home it all came flooding back. Everything that he had repressed amongst other people. _The car. The video. The button. Julius._ Alex shuddered.

Pulling himself out of his past, Alex grabbed a coke from the fridge and sat down at the table to try to complete some of his homework. After many arguments, Mrs Jones had allowed him to live alone without a guardian. He could easily look after himself, and he had proved that many times before on missions. MI6 didn't really have an argument, because after all, they had sent him on these missions in the first place, confident that he would be fine. On the other hand, if anyone at school found out he was living alone, social services would be onto him - but then again, Alex was pretty sure MI6 could deal with that. It hadn't been a problem yet, and Alex was confident that it would stay that way. He wasn't going to causing trouble anytime soon after the struggle it took him to convince MI6 that this current arrangement would be fine.

Glaring at his maths textbook in front of him, Alex prepared himself for a long night.


	4. Chapter 4

**To answer any questions, this is set after Scorpia Rising, and Jack is dead. However, some other person became head of MI6 after Blunt was fired, but regulated anything to do with Alex to Mrs Jones, who is the deputy head. Sorry if there is any confusion - I am just arranging the details to fit with the vague plot. The characters might be a bit OOC here but that was the way I felt like taking the story when I wrote it. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 4: Snapped

Alex walked into school the next morning, tired from all of the homework he had completed last night. It had taken him ages, especially because of all of the catch up work that the teachers had been setting him due to his absences. Trust MI6 to mess up his schoolwork - at this rate, Alex wouldn't even pass his GCSEs. Saved the world more times than he can remember, but not able to pass his GCSEs. Pathetic.

Alex saw one of his only friends, and made his way over to the tree that Tom was standing under. "So what torture have they got lined up for us today?" Alex asked, and greeted his friend. School was so boring for his classmates, and so Alex had to at least try and be normal. Little did they know that he loved the normalcy that school brought. Alex needed a huge dose of normal after what he had been through.

"Nothing actually," Tom replied, "We are being let off all day to go to this 'important meeting' about our trip to the SAS."

"All day?" Fantastic. Just fantastic. He would now have to listen for hours to information about the camp that he already had first hand knowledge of. Alex still couldn't believe that he was going back.

"Yep, all day. I don't know why it's going to take so long, but at least we miss lessons."

"Yeah," Alex murmured. Except missing lessons was very bad. He had enough catch up homework already, let alone the workload he would be getting today for missing lessons. If Alex was given a choice between going to this meeting or staying in lessons, he would take the lessons anytime.

Hearing the warning bell ring, Alex and Tom slowly walked to the room where the meeting would be taking place. Already inside the room were the other students who were picked to go on this 'trip.' Alex ignored the stares that they were all giving him, and sat down in a seat towards the back of the room, preparing himself for the worst.

As expected, Mrs Jones came in exactly on time and began her presentation promptly. She had everyone's attention (except Alex's) for the whole two hours - a small miracle in a group of teenagers - as she went through the information about the trip. Naturally, she was sugar coating the SAS, as the teenagers would not be so eager to go if they knew what it would really be like, but she suspected that they would not realise until it would be too late to back out and go home. Unfortunately, Alex would be able to see through her lies, because he had been there before, but she trusted him not to tell everyone, as he would have no excuse to say why he knew all of this, and Alex was not one to blow his cover lightly. She wouldn't do this if she had another option, but Alex needed this training. At least it was only for two weeks.

Mrs Jones reached inside her pocket for a peppermint, before remembering that food was not allowed in the classrooms at school. She saw Alex's smirk as he watched the deputy head of MI6 trying to hide her actions, and she was suddenly very glad that the rest of the group were not quite as observant as Alex - it was only a small embarrassment, but Mrs Jones hated being unprofessional.

However, unknown to Mrs Jones, someone else did see her slip. Alice wondered why the woman needed the thing in her pocket so much, as it was clear that she really wanted the mysterious object because of her body language. Alice brushed this thought aside though, as she had much more pressing worries to deal with. It was likely that the SAS men would know about her mum - they were trained to recognise faces - and there was a slim chance that someone might recognise her. Alice really hoped they wouldn't.

Sitting across the other side of the classroom, Alex listened as Mrs Jones described the trip. She had to have said some of the biggest lies that he had ever heard MI6 tell. "You will be staying in comfortable accommodation," and "You will partake in a series of exciting activities each day to improve your fitness," and finally the largest lie yet: "The SAS men are eager to take advantage of this new programme to help students with this amazing opportunity!" Alex had to hide a snort when that particular line was said. If the SAS were eager about anything, it would be either to give them the worst two weeks of their lives, or to get rid of them as soon as they arrived. It was all complete rubbish.

* * *

Everyone got let out for break, and Alex quickly went to find Tom.

"That had to be the biggest set of lies that I have ever heard."

"Really?" Tom replied, "Because it sounded pretty cool to me."

Alex laughed. "No, let's just say that within two minutes of getting to the place, you will be wishing you where anywhere BUT the camp."

"And why would I do that?" Tom rolled his eyes. "I can't wait to start annoying those army guys."

Alex stared in disbelief, and then smiled. Tom's stupid ideas made him remember how it was to be a teenager again. However, Alex had grown up a long time ago, and there was no going back for him. How Alex wished it was different. The things that he had seen...

"Well, it's your head their going to punch, so that's fine if you're happy with it," Alex replied.

"Wait what? Surely the SAS guys are not allowed to punch us?" Tom asked.

Alex admitted his mistake. "Probably not straight away... But they are allowed to give us combat training and then 'accidentally' punch us. Like I said, it's your head."

* * *

Back in the meeting room again after break, Mrs Jones showed a video and let the teenagers watch it. She was getting more and more worried, because the longer the video played for, the harder and more cynical she could see Alex getting. He didn't show it in his face, but Mrs Jones could see it in his body language. Alex had the posture and thoughts of a desperate man, and that was the thing that was worrying her. The boy was unpredictable in a normal situation, let alone one which he hated. Apprehensively, the deputy head of MI6 went to the front after the video had finished. "Any questions?" She asked. Mrs Jones wished she could skip this part, but it was necessary.

Alex watched as Mrs Jones answered some of the other queries from the students, completely ignoring his outstretched hand in the air. That video had been the last straw for him. Just seeing the lies that his classmates were being fed, and the manipulation in the air made him more angry than ever before. He could understand that MI6 would want to manipulate him, but innocent children? That was crossing an invisible line that MI6 had already been very close to crossing when they blackmailed him. Alex felt his anger snap his control, and relished in the fact that he didn't care anymore. He didn't care at all. Not one bit. Alex was determined to enjoy every last moment of this power, because nothing could stop him. He was a weapon that had been moulded by MI6, by the CIA, by Scorpia, and he was completely lethal. He could do anything he wanted, and no one could stop him. He didn't have anyone close to him anymore, because they had all been killed off by the people who had trained him. He was finally free.

Finally, there were no other hands up in the room except his. Alex just sat there, not making a sound, daring the woman to face up to what she had made. The weapon was turning against its creators. Mrs Jones made a show of looking at her list of names, and trying to find the right one, stalling for time. She quickly ran out of excuses. "What is your question Alex?"

"Why tell us lies?" Alex asked, his voice ringing loudly through the classroom. He was deliberately baiting Mrs Jones, and he could see that she was panicking. Ignoring the other fixated eyes on him from the other teenagers, Alex leant back and waited for the woman to find an answer. He didn't care what his classmates thought of him. Alex just wanted revenge. Why shouldn't he cause trouble for MI6 when that was what they had did for him?

"What lies?" Mrs Jones settled in asking him after a tense pause.

"What lies?" Alex repeated calmly. Everyone could see that he was dangerous, and started to edge back in their seats. A storm was coming, they were sure of it. There was obviously history here.

Alex felt deadly, and wondered why he hadn't done this before. He was going to have so much fun. "Let me see -"

"I'm afraid we have no time left," Mrs Jones interrupted quickly. She could sense the danger, and this situation was fast becoming a problem. She had greatly underestimated Alex's hate, and this was going to be costly.

"- you say 'comfortable accommodation,' I say that it is more like sleeping on the cold ground; the mattresses are pretty much -"

"Please stop now." Mrs Jones ordered.

"- rock solid. I heard you mention 'exciting activities,' more like tortuous trials in my opinion. But that is just the tip of the iceberg in consideration of the rest of lies you have told today -"

"Rider, stop this now!" Mrs Jones demanded, and then suddenly realised what she had done. A hush fell over the room, as everyone connected the dots. The woman in front of them clearly knew the mysterious teenager was, and more importantly, was ordering him around. They waited for the explosion that was surely going to come next from Alex.

The teenager in question slowly stalked to the front of the room, not caring about anything in the world anymore. Alex had finally lost control. He stopped right in front of Mrs Jones, who was starting to fear for her life, and paused, loathing filling his eyes.

"No."


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed :)**

* * *

Chapter 5: The Unlocked Door

As soon as Alex had said it, he immediately regretted it. As much as he loathed MI6, he didn't dare blow his cover completely to his friends. School was the last normal part of his life left - he could not throw that away for a chance at revenge, not matter how much he wanted to. And also, he shouldn't have lost his control. It was one of the things that he had prided himself on, being able to keep calm in any situation, and he had just thrown all reason out of the window when he had decided to bait Mrs Jones. Alex supposed he should have known better. Life was not fair, and he would just have to deal with it. He just hoped that he hadn't revealed too much to the rest of the group.

No one else saw the change in Alex, as he was far too good an actor. Only Mrs Jones could see his eyes change from hatred to blankness, and she relaxed slightly once she realised that Alex had come to his senses. It would be unacceptable to make any more of a scene in front of his classmates after the damage he had already done. Mrs Jones made a mental note to talk to Alex about that later, because he couldn't go around shouting out national secrets for the world to hear. She decided to 'send Alex out' and give him some time to cool down, because although he had calmed a little, the deputy head of MI6 knew that it would only take 'a little' to push him over the egde again. Sending him out would also allow Alex to get away from his classmates, as he would need all of his skill to fend of the curious teenagers later. Their discussion about behaviour would have to be delayed, as there was no time for it now.

Alex appeared to walk out of the room calmly, completely confusing the rest of the group. What had happened to the angry, dangerous boy five seconds ago? All were unnerved in this sudden change in behaviour. It was as if Alex had suddenly become a different person. And it still didn't explain why he had got so angry in the first place. This teacher like woman at the front would never tell lies, as that would be against the law. So why did Alex think that she was? The mystery deepened...

Outside the meeting room, Alex knew that he needed to do something to get rid of his anger, or he would explode from trying to keep his emotions suppressed. He had calmed down enough to realise that his actions were futile, but not enough to quench his loathing for MI6. Quickly finding an empty classroom nearby, Alex started to practise his katas, allowing his mind to focus solely on his body. Alex was fluid and strong, but most noticeably, had a completely calm exterior as he executed the moves perfectly with the accuracy of a machine. He got faster and faster, until the world around him was a blur, blocking out everything, releasing his inward anger and hatred in every kick and turn.

_Slash_. MI6 telling innocent children lies. _Kick_. Going back to the SAS. _Bend_. MI6 using him like a pawn. _Stretch_. Alone, just alone. _Duck_. She's dead. _Sweep_. No one cares anymore.

So focused on his thoughts, Alex didn't notice the silent tears of grief and sorrow running down his face as he continued to do his katas. When someone walked in, his head turned sharply towards the threat. Alex analysed the height, weight, and possible weapons of the person in front of him, before taking up a defensive stance. His mind was beyond rational thought, as he was still locked in his memories, the sadness overcoming him. The teenager was on autopilot, seeing any possible threat and dealing with it whilst his consious mind was lost and vulnerable in his emotional overload.

* * *

She saw the boy look at her with a completely blank face, but that wasn't the thing that scared her. No, the most frightening thing was his stance. She had walked in the find him sparring with an invisible partner, and was shocked at the fluidity and power in his movements. The boy was clearly deadly. But she had also caught a glimpse of his face during the blur of his fighting, and she was shocked to see that it was shiny, like he was crying. And now the same deadly fighter was advancing towards her, showing no sign of recognition. She soon realised that the boy she had seen before was not quite there now. Piecing together his tears and blank expression, she quickly came to the conclusion that he was not quite aware of what he was doing, acting with no conscious thought or decision.

But why were the boy's instincts telling him that he was in danger? That he needed to fight?

Unsure of how far he would go unconsciously, she came to the conclusion that she was in very real danger. She had seen his skills previously, and they scared her. No boy should be able to fight like that. She had never seen anyone so lethal.

She backed away slowly, and then escaped as soon as she could.

* * *

The slam of the door jerked Alex out of the past and into the present. Alarmed to see his defensive stance, he scanned the room for threats. But there were none. Mystified, Alex searched for any clues in his memory as to why he was prepared for a fight. Alex remembered leaving the meeting room._ Quickly finding the room he was in now. Starting his katas. Releasing his anger. Then a face. _Alex forced his mind to focus. What happened? _A face. A threat._ A threat? That person was no threat. _A_ _scared face. Seeing them run. The door slamming. _Alex stepped back in shock. What had he done? He had been so vulnerable in his weakened state... And so his body had responded on automatic. This person had triggered his defensive reflex, and he had responded to the threat. Alex cursed MI6 for sending him on missions, which had honed his reflexes and awarness of danger, making his body over react like this. It had happened before, but never as bad as this, and never in the presence of anyone else.

What was he going to do?

Alex didn't recognise the face in his memory, but he felt like he should. The person was obviously wearing school uniform, so it must have been a student. No professional would show that they were scared and then run away. He blamed himself for not locking the door before allowing himself to lose control like that. It would have stopped all of this from happening. But the student - Alex focused again - was female, he was sure. It was definitely a girl's face he could remember. So who was she? And where was she now? Would she expose his actions?

What was he going to do?

* * *

**Virtual brownies for anyone who can guess what Alex will do about his problem!**


	6. Chapter 6

**And the virtual brownies go to ... Savannah Silverstone! For getting the closest guess (though not about the dating bit!).**

**Thanks for the favourites, and follows, and all of the reviews! I never thought that I would ever get thirty two reviews when I started this story :)**

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Chapter 6: Off to Wales

It was now Monday, and Alex still hadn't worked out who the mysterious girl was. It was really getting on his nerves. That girl had the potential to blow his cover, and yet he hadn't heard a whisper of a rumour about what she might have seen. Either he was losing his touch, or the girl had kept it a secret. Her behaviour was so hard to comprehend, that Alex was beginning to doubt that she had even seen him at all. It felt like he had stared at every face in the school to try and find some resemblance to the one he remembered. But it had been nearly three days, and he hadn't seen her anywhere. It was all very annoying.

Alex watched as the coach pulled up in front of the school with huge dread. This was the machine that would take him to his own personal nightmare, and Alex still hadn't worked out how he was going to act or what his story would be. Should he pretend to be useless like his classmates expected? Or should he complete the activities to the best of his ability to aid his training? Alex couldn't decide which would have the worse consequences. However, he did know one thing - if he blew his cover, Mrs Jones had threatened to give him a babysitter whilst he wasn't on missions. Funnily enough, while violent threats barely fazed him (with so many hanging over his head, it didn't really make a difference if there was one more, and Alex knew that Mrs Jones couldn't do anything to rival Scorpia), the threat of having a babysitter had him complying with MI6 for now. His independence was something that Alex had fought for, and while he was under the guardianship of MI6, he would not be able to face his freedom taken away. It was low, but MI6 had always been notoriously underhand at getting him to do what they wanted. Alex did feel slightly insulted though - he could look after himself perfectly well, and Mrs Jones knew that. There was no way that he needed a babysitter.

Alex started to curse MI6 to the deepest pits of fire for their manipulative ways and prepared himself for the torture to come. But then, as he was scanning the area subconsciously for possible threats, something came to his attention. Shifting himself slightly so that he had had clearer view, Alex almost took a step back in shock. It was her. The face that had haunted him. And she was completely ignoring him.

Alex tensed, and immediately slipped into the mode of fight or flight. Tom stood beside Alex, and noticed when his best friend subtly changed his stance to the defensive. Unnerved by the sudden change, Tom wanted to know what was going on. "Alex?" He asked. No response. "Alex? Alex!"

"What?" The other teenager replied irritated. Tom was distracting him from analysing the girl - she looked harmless enough from a distance.

Tom rolled his eyes impatiently. "What's got you so worked up? Is it assassins from that group you annoyed? What was their name... Crab?"

"Scorpia. And no, it isn't that."

...

Tom almost exploded. "So what is it?"

"Her." Alex replied cryptically.

"Who?"

"Her."

"I got that the first time, thanks. Who is she?" Tom asked exasperatedly.

"I don't know."

"What? How can you- "

"Shh." Alex motioned for Tom to be quiet.

Tom almost whacked Alex on the head for being so infuriating, and then thought better of it. Who knew how Alex would react to an unexpected blow when he was in this mood. Tom would probably end up in the hospital with a broken arm if the last time was anything to go by. He had felt that bruise for weeks. Nevertheless, Tom trusted Alex's instincts better than his own, and so started to look around to see if he could find out who had got Alex so keyed up.

Meanwhile, Alex couldn't understand why the girl was ignoring him. He remembered getting ready to fight her in that room, and that should have been enough to scare the average teenager. So why wasn't she running, or telling someone, or even confronting him about what had happened?

Then a different realisation hit him, and Alex's despair hit him again tenfold. If she was here, that meant that she was waiting for the coach like him, and that meant that she was going to Wales as well. That was why she looked familiar - she had been at the meeting for the trip, but Alex had barely noticed her, only enough to faintly recognise her face. He was going to be destroyed if she ever told anyone. His last bit of normality at school would be gone. AND she would know he was faking if he pretended to be useless.

Suddenly, a voice cut through his frantic thoughts. "Everyone into the coach!" A teacher called. Alex was frozen like a statue. But he had to do this. Forcing himself to move, he carefully placed one foot in front of the other, as if he was walking on land mines. He induced his own punishment when he climbed the stairs of the coach. Sitting down in a seat near the front - always the front - Alex just stared into nothingness. As the coach pulled away, he was lost in his own thoughts. He was going back into his nightmares, with a girl that knew enough to ruin his life forever. And he could do nothing about it.

* * *

Three hours later, Alex had decided on a course of action. When they got to the camp, he would ask the sergeant to excuse him from training with the rest of the group, on the pretence of his immune system being too weak, while he would actually be training with K-unit. Somehow, he would find something to keep him occupied in the evening, until the rest of the group went to bed, then he would go to bed himself once they were all asleep. If he rose early enough in the morning, he would be able to avoid his classmates completely. While his plan may not be the best, it was the only viable option that Alex could think of. It just all hinged on the girl. She would definitely know that he was not weak. He signed inwardly, and then decided to just hope that she would stay quiet. As far as he knew, she hadn't said anything to anyone, and he could not go through another confrontation with her. It was a major flaw in his plan, but Alex couldn't be bothered to try and fix it. He would have a hard enough time as it was.

It was going to be a _very_ long month.

* * *

The coach turned into the road to the SAS camp. Everyone on the coach couldn't wait to start their 'adventure holiday' as it was dubbed by some - with the exception of two people. The general mood was huge excitement, and when the coach stopped outside the gates, the group was more than ready to start the fun. It was drizzling slightly, and so naturally the teenagers started to grumble as they took their bags out of the coach's hold, but they were sure that the SAS wouldn't make them do activities in the rain, so it was all good.

But then they heard a shout.

"OI! YOU LOT. STAND UP STRAIGHT IN A LINE. NO SLOUCHING. NOW!"

A fierce looking man in army uniform was approaching, and Alex had to hide his grin when his classmates looked as if they had been told that Christmas was cancelled. So maybe this trip would have one good aspect after all. His 'classmates' were going to get some of the biggest shocks of their lives. But he had warned them in that meeting. If they hadn't listened, it was their fault, not his.

Four men were now approaching. Alex scanned their faces, and was relieved that it wasn't K-unit. He was not ready to deal with them right now. Scratch that, he would never be ready to deal with them, but he was going to have to at some point. Just not now.

"I AM THE SERGEANT." The man bellowed. The leader of the SAS then glanced down the line. What were '6 thinking of? There was no way that any of these children would be able to train here. This was the SAS! Not some kiddie's playground. They wouldn't get over even the first obstacle on the assault course, let alone the month of tough training they had planned. It was going to be a disaster.

"WHEN YOU ARE AT THIS CAMP YOU WILL OBEY ME AND ALL OF MY MEN WITHOUT QUESTION. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN PUNISHMENT. YOU WILL TRAINED NO DIFFERENTLY FROM THE MEN HERE. SOME IDIOT IN GOVERNMENT THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA, SO I'M STUCK WITH YOU FOR A MONTH. BUT I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY EXCUSES. YOU WILL COMPLETE THE ACTIVITIES, NO MATTER HOW TIRED, ILL, OR HUNGRY YOU ARE. IS THAT CLEAR?"

Silence met his words. "WHEN YOU ARE ASKED A QUESTION, YOU WILL REPLY YES SIR, OR NO SIR. IS THAT CLEAR?"

The group mumbled in response.

The Sergeant almost exploded. "IS THAT CLEAR?"

"Yes sir!" The group chanted. Alex had to work hard to try and keep a huge grin hidden. This moment should be filmed, and sent to 'you've been framed.' The expressions on the group's faces were priceless. Unfortunately, the sergeant didn't see it that way.

"YOU THERE. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS SO FUNNY?" Alex now couldn't stop his giggles at the sergeant's face. "COME HERE." Alex immediately stopped laughing. The man might be able to recognise him from his previous stay here. He hoped not. Slowly walking up to him, Alex kept his head bent and avoided the sergeant's eyes.

But it didn't work. The sergeant felt shock run through his system as he recognised the boy that was Cub. So this must be the MI6 agent that needed the extra training with K-unit. But Cub? MI6 agent? They needed to have a talk, but it couldn't be here in front of the rest of the group. Thinking quickly, the sergeant bellowed, "THIS IS L-UNIT. THEY WILL BE TRAINING YOU FOR THE DURATION OF YOUR STAY HERE. DO NOT GIVE THEM TROUBLE, OR YOU WILL BECOME NICELY ACQUAINTED WITH THE KITCHEN STAFF. YOU," the sergeant motioned to Alex, "FOLLOW ME." And then he strode off.

Alex followed the sergeant quickly, not wanting to get left behind. It was obvious that the man recognised him, but in this case, it might actually help, as the leader of the SAS may be on his side. The sergeant would agree with the reasoning behind his plan, at least, Alex hoped he would.

When they arrived at his office, the sergeant sat down in his chair, wondering what on earth was going on. "I understand that '6 want you to have extra training with K-unit." The man started.

"Yes. About that." Alex continued on nervously. "I was hoping that I could slightly alter that plan."

"Go on."

"The rest of my group do not know that I am an agent." At least, Alex hoped they didn't. Excepting Tom obviously. "And so I was hoping that I could not train with them, but train with another unit, like I did when I was with K-unit before. I know that- "

The sergeant cut him off. "Let me get this straight. You are _volunteering_ to train with an SAS unit."

"Yes."

"After the last one gave you a nightmare of a time."

"Yes."

"And you know that your classmates' training would be much easier than an SAS unit's training." The sergeant said incredulously.

"Yes."

"And you are _volunteering_."

"Yes."

"Fine."

"What?" Alex was thrown by his casual agreement. He thought that the man would have taken much more persuasion to even consider what he was proposing.

"You can train with K-unit in the day - they should be more used to you than an unfamiliar unit - and then you will complete your extra, more specialised training with them in the evening. Any problems with that?"

Alex grinned. The sergeant obviously understood what a tricky position he would be in if he had to train with the rest of the group, and instead of telling him to deal with it, the man had agreed to his solution. Alex never thought that he would say this, but the SAS were so much nicer than MI6.

"No sir." Alex replied. Training with K-unit was going to be nasty, but it was much better than the alternative.

"You're in cabin 7 like last time. I'll ask for an extra bunk to be added." Then the sergeant remembered why he had called Cub into his office in the first place. "What is this about you and MI6?"

Alex wondered how he should answer the question. What he said now could create a series of problems for him in the future if he wasn't careful. "What about MI6?" He asked innocently.

"You are referred to as an agent Cub. And you can only be about 18 years old."

"15." Alex corrected him.

"What?" The sergeant was shocked for a second. "That's beside the point. Why are you part of the nation's secret intelligence?"

Alex knew the answer to that one. "I'm afraid it's mostly classified." The man looked at him in disbelief. "Ask '6 for my file, and they will give you the relevant details." Mrs Jones could deal with the headache when the sergeant blew up about how little he could access in his file.

The sergeant made a note to do what the boy said later, but for now he had to deal with other matters. He summoned K-unit on the tannoy system, and sat back whilst waiting for them to arrive.

Alex heard the loudspeaker message, and steeled himself for the men that probably despised him. If he got through this, he would deserve a medal.


	7. Chapter 7

**Here is the next chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7: K-Unit

"At ease soldiers." The sergeant called, and the four men stood in front of him relaxed. Alex carefully inspected his former unit. Wolf hadn't changed much - he still took a very aggressive stance on default - but he also seemed more weary, like he had aged ten years in the space of one. In fact, as Alex glanced at the rest of the unit, they all looked very tired, as if they had seen too much of the world to ever be able to believe in its innocence again. Maybe they had been posted to Iraq recently.

Snake was leaning on his right leg a little, which suggested that this left had been injured recently. Alex wondered where and how it had happened, before decided that it was irrelevant.

Eagle looked like someone had given him too much sugar. He was hopping from foot to foot, as if all he wanted was to be able to jump around the room, bouncing into the air.

Alex then turned to study Ben's replacement. The man had jet black hair, and the spy judged the the man was relatively new to the SAS, as he did not look as if he he was constantly on his guard, which told Alex that he had not been doing the job for more than a year. That or he was an extremely good actor and he was hiding his paranoia, but Alex seriously doubted it.

However, before he could complete his musings, the sergeant brought Alex back to what K-unit had been called into the room to discuss.

"K-unit, this is Cub, as you no doubt remember." Four pairs of eyes turned to Alex and he almost felt like squirming under their inquisitive gazes. He was surprised that they hadn't recognised him. But then again, he had changed a lot in the past year and a half. He had seen and done things that most adults would never have dreamed of. It made you grow up quickly.

The sergeant continued on. "Cub will be training with you in the day, and then you will be giving him additional training in the evening to a more specific programme." Ignoring the shocked and angry faces of his men, the sergeant ploughed on. "Cub is a soldier training here for the next month, and he should be treated no differently to any other man in this camp. Is that clear?"

A delayed "yes sir" came from the unit.

Wolf however, decided on a new tact. "Permission to speak sir?"

"Permission granted."

"Why is he here again?" The man asked, deceptively calm. Alex knew that there was a mass of anger hidden behind the man's words. He supposed that he shouldn't be surprised. He had forgotten just how much K-unit hated him. That hadn't stopped him from hoping that this time would be different, especially because he had worked with Wolf in France, but it was only to be expected. Here he was, a 'boy' wanting to train at an SAS camp, insulting the soldiers who had worked hard to get here. He could see perfectly well why they were so angry.

"Cub is here to train."

"Train." Wolf tested th word. "Train for what may I ask?"

"That's none of your concern." Alex silently thanked the sergeant for keeping his secret. He was starting to like the man more and more.

Wolf ground his teeth together, trying to hide his frustration, whilst Alex watched from the corner. The spy judged that the man wouldn't take this argument any further in front of the sergeant. After all, Wolf could still get binned, even if he couldn't.

"No more questions?" The sergeant asked. "Good. You are dismissed." Suddenly remembering something important, the sergeant called out to the teenager. "Cub, what am I telling the rest of your group?"

Said teenager paused and then spoke without turning back to the man, so that the sergeant couldn't see his face when he replied.

"Tell them my immune system was to weak, and that I'm doing theory work for the duration of this trip." The teenager the laughed bitterly, and exited the room.

The sergeant didn't quite know what to make of that comment.

* * *

K-unit and Alex walked in silence to cabin 7. Alex could feel the unit's hostile glares burying the self into the back of his neck. He refused to acknowledge their presence. Hopefully, if he ignored the men, then they would ignore him. And all Alex would have left to worry about would be surviving through the training. Admittedly, he was slightly curious to see how the training here compared to that he had received in Malagosto, and also how he would compare to the SAS soldiers. It would be funny to see their faces if he managed to beat one of them.

They arrived at the cabin, and Alex immediately proceeded to the bed - concrete slab - that had obviously been squeezed in at last minute. It was nearest to the door, and Alex was glad of that fact, as it meant that he had a quick exit if he needed one. There was a small window near to the back of the cabin, but it would be too small for Alex to climb through. At that realisation, he was slightly disappointed, but also relieved. Ever since that film set, he had been very wary of climbing through small windows and air vents. At a push, Alex would be able to force himself to, but he would never forget the journey of fire that he had completed to save his life.

Not wanting to provide a target for K-unit, Alex reached into his bag, took out a book that he was meant to be reading for his English class, and started reading.

Unfortunately, before he could even finish his first page, Alex was interrupted.

"Hallo! I'm Tiger!" The spy turned around to glare at Ben's replacement. K-unit were definitely not going to be nice to him, so he may as well give them the full effect of his cold mask. The less that they found out about him, the better. No doubt, if he told any one of them, an hour later the whole camp would know, and Alex wouldn't be able to bear that. He could imagine the looks of shock and pity he would get, and then had to repress a shudder. He promised himself that he would disappear before it got to that.

Seeing the glare on Cub's face, and the cold look in his eyes, Tiger backed off. That boy was scary. Weird and scary.

Alex couldn't care less what K-unit thought about him. Turning to his book again, Alex continued to read...

... Only to be interrupted again.

Wolf was advancing towards him, furious.

"You will treat my unit with respect." The man stated. The 'or else' remained unsaid but Alex knew without a doubt that it was there.

"Why should I?" Alex asked bitterly. The spy was already fed up with Wolf, and it couldn't have been more than ten minutes. All Alex wanted was to be left alone.

Wolf was almost ready to punch the brat. _Why should he respect them? _The cheek of it.

"We have saved your puny life many times over, and you ask us why you should respect your saviours?"

Alex had almost lost it again. Laughter was threatening to take him again over the irony of the question that Wolf had just posed. It was ridiculous.

The Wolf decided to punch Alex.

Not one of his better ideas.

Within seconds, the SAS soldier was pinned to the wall with his arm twisted behind him in what had to be one of the most painful positions that Wolf had ever experienced.

No one had even seen Cub move. He was too fast.

No one heard what the spy whispered in Wolf's ear when everyone was too frozen to react.

No one dared breathe when the deadly teen let Wolf go, and walked out of the door.

No one moved for a long time after he left.

* * *

**Virtual brownies to anyone who can guess what Alex whispered in Wolf's ear before leaving :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hmm... No one managed to guess correctly, but everyone had a good go. I have to admit, many of your ideas ran through my mind before I decided on another one that I felt fitted Alex the most in this scene. Thanks for all of the reviews - I think it was 19 for the last chapter! Sorry I didn't update earlier - I have been very busy recently with heaps of schoolwork :(**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 8: Wild Sanctuary

Alex broke into a jog as soon as he left the cabin. K-unit had _looked_ intimidated, but you could never be sure. For all he knew, they could be about to charge after him with murderous intent - but the spy doubted it. Anyway, a murderous SAS unit aside, Alex knew that he needed some space to gather his thoughts. Which meant that he needed a place to hide where he could let his guard down slightly. After what had happened last time, Alex didn't really want to have to let his guard down at all. But he felt like he was going to explode from the suppressed thoughts and actions running around in his head - again. All he could hope to do was to hide well enough before losing himself in his thoughts, so that there was not a repeat of what happened last time.

Alex scanned the immediate area and smiled. He had found the perfect place. The spy made his way over to the edge of the woods, and after checking that no one was looking, Alex slipped inside the dense woodland.

Everything felt much calmer as soon once he was under the cover of the trees and the noises of the camp faded as he walked into the forest. It was so peaceful, so tranquil, that Alex found it hard to believe that an SAS camp was not so far behind him. And the silence - it was just beautiful. There were no loud shouts, or whistles, or drones of aeroplanes and cars, just beautiful silence. The spy part of Alex started to relax in this calm place, as you would be able to hear anyone coming from a mile off. It was like heaven.

Alex started lightly jogging for a few minutes, in search for the right tree. Finding one that was perfectly suited to his purposes, Alex climbed through the branches until he reached a fork roughly 3 metres off the ground. When looking for someone, people never look upwards - it was a trick that Alex had learnt a while ago. Settling down as comfortably as he could between the trunks, Alex started to contemplate his problems.

First on the agenda was Wolf. The SAS man seemed to hate him with a passion, and Alex couldn't work out why. It wasn't as if he had done much to bait Wolf, and the man had responded with massive anger. _'We have saved your puny life many times over, and you ask us why you should respect your saviours?' _The spy didn't understand the intensity of the angry response. But then Wolf had tried to hit him - and he had got off very lightly in Alex's eyes. A normal teenage bully at school in the same position would be lucky to get away without any broken bones, let alone just the comment that the SAS man received. Contrary to Wolf's belief, Alex did have huge respect for the soldiers. What they had done in their lives had probably saved many people, possibly even him, and it was that respect that had left Wolf with a comment, instead of a fight. It would have been unfair to give the man trouble when he had done such good.

And the rest of the unit - they had looked to be undecided about their unofficial fifth member. Who knew if they would go with Wolf, or form an opinion for themselves? Alex remembered Tiger, and the almost scared look on his face when the teenager had confronted him. Alex didn't quite know how he felt about that. The spy part of him told him it would be a great tool, to be able to intimidate people into doing what he wanted. But the human part of him would feel very bad if he intentionally frightened someone. It would be too similar to the 'baddies' that Alex had fought, who used fear to run their organisations, and the teenager never wanted to become like them.

Then there was the problem of the girl. Alex wished that he had used his brain and asked Tom who she was, or even just her name. Information is power, and the spy was determined to find out as much as he could about her before they met again - that much was inevitable when they were staying in the same camp, on the same trip. Again, Alex would just have to hope that she stayed silent...

And there was MI6...

And Scorpia...

The weight of his problems felt like Alex was carrying a heavy bag constantly around with him on his shoulders. At some times, it felt like the whole world was against him.

* * *

The men in cabin 7 finally started to talk again once the shock of the moment had worn off.

"What just happened?" Asked Snake. "What did Cub say?"

"Nothing worthy of my time." Replied Wolf harshly.

Tiger very almost took a step back, to retreat from the anger in his teammate's voice. Wolf's judgement seemed wrong - this Cub was just a kid. Albeit a kid who could perform scarily quick and precise karate moves. He didn't deserve the wrath of Wolf. But then Tiger started remembering the events that had led up to the confrontation. The teenager looking at him with those scary, dead eyes. Who was he? And the disrespect that he had showed... Tiger felt Wolf's anger, if not to a lesser degree. Compared to the kid's achievements, their's had to be a million times better, more beneficial for others. How dare this Cub try and act all scary in front of an K-unit? They deserved his respect.

"But what did he say?" Snake asked insistently.

Wolf turned to glare at the man. "Only some stupid comment. The brat had the nerve to say:_'the biggest difference between you and me, is that I have nothing dear to me left to lose.'_" The unit winced collectively at the mocking tone in Wolf's voice. "His rich daddy probably took away his play station, or something like that." Wolf conveniently forgot how he had been intimidated by the same teenager not so long ago. "He's most likely to be off crying all by himself. A little cry baby - that's what Cub is." Again Wolf chose to deny his memory of those dead eyes that looked so out of place on someone so young.

Snake frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. He disrespected this unit. That on its own would be a massive indicator towards his bratty nature."

"But the kid -" Snake tried to continue.

"Enough." Wolf commanded. "Cub -" he spat out the word "- is not to be mentioned any more. We will move on from discussing his feeble life. Understood?"

Snake sighed. When Wolf got like this, there was no point in arguing with him. It would only serve to rile the man even more. Wolf did not get like this often, but when he did there was no stopping him, and the thing to do was to get out of the way. "Yes." The medic said quickly. "I understand." The truth was though, Cub didn't look healthy. He didn't look anything like a normal teenage boy should. Snake was very worried. By ignoring the unit's unofficial fifth member, he would have to ignore the medic inside him that said that everyone deserved help. It felt wrong.

And the 'rich daddy' taunt - Snake wasn't so sure. Cub had apparently said that he had 'nothing dear to him left to lose.' Snake didn't want to think to far about what that comment meant. It had horrific possibilities. Who or what had the boy lost?

* * *

"Where is the brat?" Half an hour later Wolf was ready to throttle anyone who so much glanced in his direction. Cub had no right to run off like that - he was in an SAS camp! And the SAS _never_ ran away. The stupid boy was just so infuriatingly weak. A true soldier would have stood his ground, in fact, anyone with an ounce of courage would have stayed. That boy had to be the most pathetic creature that Wolf had ever seen. The only reason that Wolf had been intimidated by him earlier was because... because... the insolent kid had shocked him with his barefaced cheek and blatant stuck up manner. It would most certainly not happen again - Wolf was adamant of the fact.

But the troublesome kid was meant to be assessed by them in ten minutes, and there was no way that Wolf was going to be late. The SAS were never late. And if Cub was the cause for them to be more than a second behind schedule... Wolf grinned menacingly as he thought of the punishment that would have to be induced.

"Perhaps we should should go and try and find him?" Snake suggested.

"Why would we waste effort on Cub? He isn't part of this unit." Wolf snapped back.

"I think that's harsh. Cub is our fifth member, even if it isn't on the record." Snake replied, his voice stern.

Wolf shook his head. "If it isn't on the record, it doesn't count."

"But maybe we should go and find him?" Tiger piped up.

"I agree - no one deserves trouble on their first day back." Eagle seconded.

Wolf looked around at his unit. How could they even stick up for the brat? He was a kid, pretending to be a soldier. But Wolf would play along with the rest of the unit - they would soon come around to his point of view when they saw how pitifully weak Cub was. It was only a matter of time.

"Fine. We'll go look for the kid." Wolf assented.

"No need." Everyone turned towards the door to see Cub standing there, as if everything was perfectly normal.

"Where have you been?" Wolf asked threateningly.

"None of your business." Alex had known that his assessment was coming up, and so had concluded his musings, re-strengthened his mental guards again, and returned to the cabin. There was no need for Wolf to know where he had been, and Alex refused to tell him. The less K-unit knew about his life, the better. Alex repeated that mantra in his head before he realised that the four men were staring at him, or rather three men were staring, and Wolf was glaring.

"So are you assessing me or what?" Alex asked innocently.

* * *

**There is a reason why Wolf is being horrible, honest! I know that this chapter may not have been the most exciting, but I promise that the next one will have lots of action ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you for the reviews!**

* * *

Chapter 9: Illusions

"So, first up is the assault course." Snake said. "Try to get around it in under 30 minutes - that would be a good time for someone your age."

Alex almost smirked before remembering that Wolf would probably kill him if he did. K-unit had obviously forgotten his fist time here. On his first attempt at the course, he had done it in just over 22 minutes, and his reflexes had only improved since then. This was going to be child's play.

"How long does it take you?" The spy asked, curious.

"The fastest of us is Wolf, at roughly 17 and a half minutes." Snake replied. "Just do your best, and then we'll go from there."

Alex was beginning to like the Scottish medic - he seemed much kinder compared to the other three. But really, Alex suspected that it was only Wolf that was truly against him. It was only a question of how far he would go to influence the rest of his unit.

"Ready." Eagle started. Alex prepared himself at the starting line. He couldn't wait for the challenge. In a weird way, training with the SAS might be kind of fun.

"Set." Alex was determined to beat Wolf's time.

"Go." And he was off. It felt fantastic to run again, but without anything threatening him. Normally when he ran around the park every day, he still had to be on his guard for any possible threats from the likes of Scorpia. But now, in an SAS camp, Alex could just enjoy the speed with no strings attached. He felt alive.

* * *

"What the... " Eagle broke off. Cub was fast. Very fast. And was he smiling? Eagle shook his head in disbelief at what he was seeing. The kid had come to the first obstacle, and then he was over it. In a matter of seconds, Cub had cleared a 2.5 meter high wall. Just like that.

"Is he actually grinning?" Tiger asked to no one in particular.

"I think so." Replied Eagle, not wanting to take his eyes off Cub's performance for a second in case he missed anything. The kid had passed the third obstacle in under five minutes. Not even Wolf was that fast...

Meanwhile, several other units had seen the blurry figure on the course, and had come to see who it was. To their astonishment, as they got closer, they could see that it was a teenager!? All were shocked into silence.

Wolf watched as the brat cleared yet another obstacle. The nerve of him. Cub had got to the monkey bars, and didn't just swing from bar to bar like any sane person would. No, he flew, missing out bars from the sheer force of his flight. The show off.

* * *

Alex was enjoying himself, happier than he had been in a long time. He felt free, without any worries or concerns. Just the feel of the ground beneath his feet.

The teenager saw the huge rope swing that was approaching, and just launched himself at the rope, trusting in his reflexes to reach. Alex revelled in the wind through his hair, and the speed as he rushed towards the other side of the gap. Letting to of the rope at just the right time, Alex literally flew again over to the other side, and then carried on running.

For the first time in many years, he couldn't feel any aches or pains, even though a normal teenager would have collapsed by now from the exertion. It just felt so good.

Alex neared the final obstacle in the course, which was a zip wire. He reached for the loops to put his hands in, and launched himself off the edge again before his hands had fully gripped the rope. Alex knew that as soon as he landed, the timer would be stopped. All good things came to an end eventually. Everyone knew that, Alex more than most.

And then he saw the many SAS men waiting for him at the bottom. Alex had forgotten about them, and he was not looking forward to their reactions.

"So how did I do?" Alex asked, after he had landed gracefully.

Eagle looked down at the timer. "13 minutes, 15 seconds."

There was a beat of silence.

Then suddenly someone started clapping. And more joined in. Before he knew it, Alex was being applauded by everyone except Wolf. It felt good. He never got thanked, and to feel that just once... It was quite a new feeling for the spy, but it warmed him inside.

And then as soon as the warmth had appeared, it was extinguished again.

"What are you on druggie?" Wolf asked spitefully.

It was the old taunt from Brookland. But it really hurt that someone in the SAS would even accuse him of it, whatever their motives. The problem was that the rumour was partly true, as Alex did have some drugs in his possession, in case any of his old injuries started hurting again. He had never used any of the painkillers, but they were still there. And also, Alex knew that his doctor hadn't wanted to put him in any strong medication for his recent activities, as the medic feared that he would become to addicted. It wasn't his fault that MI6 got him injured.

And yet the 'druggie' remark still stung.

Cries of outrage could be heard from the other men, but Alex refused to listen. He only had eyes for Wolf.

"Is that what you think of me?" The spy asked quietly.

Wolf sneered in response.

Alex had known that it was too good to be true. He could never be truly happy - too many people wanted him dead and hated him in the world for that. Freedom and happiness was just a clever illusion, and he shouldn't have been fooled by it again. He was a spy, for goodness sake!

_"Take it back Wolf."_

_"Yeah, that was cruel."_

_"He's just a kid."_

_"That's an unfair remark."_

Wolf could hear the other men, but he didn't acknowledge them. All he was focused on was Cub. His face was unreadable, but Wolf could see something in his eyes hardening. Good. The brat needed a good dose of reality to shock his system. And very interesting that he hadn't denied taking any drugs - it suggested that Cub therefore _had_ done so at some point. Wolf wouldn't be too surprised if he was on them now. No human being could be that good at the course naturally.

How could his teammates be so blinded to Cub's darker side? The teenager hadn't said anything nice to them, and yet they were all singing his praises. The brat had even attacked the leader of their unit, and what had they done? Wanted to go and find Cub and check if he was okay, if he was scared by the big, bad Wolf. Did the kid look scared? The answer was no, he hadn't looked frightened, and he had done a good job of being frightening! But the rest of his unit didn't care about that. The idiots.

"Wolf!" The man heard Snake shouting.

"What?" Wolf replied, irritated.

Snake backed off. "We need to test the kid at physical combat."

"Them what are we waiting for?" Came the exasperated reply from Wolf.

Eagle looked confused. "What?"

"Let's just get it over and done with. C'mon Cub. Too scared?" Wolf taunted.

"Wait, we can't just do it here." Snake quickly said.

"Why not?"

"We need mats, a controlled environment -" Tiger started.

"No we don't." Wolf was final.

"I don't think it's a good idea." Eagle looked at Cub.

"It will be fine." Everyone turned to stare at Cub when he agreed with Wolf.

Alex knew that he would be tested at combat. And he also knew that in his current state, there was no way that he would be able to control his instincts, especially with Wolf around. Better here with everyone watching, so that they could try and control him if he lost it, which was looking very likely. The spy doubted that K-unit alone could hold him if he was actively resisting.

"Are you sure?" Someone asked in the crowd.

"Yes." Alex nodded, and then slipped into his fighting stance. He grinned wryly. "Ready when you are Wolf."

Wolf grinned evilly before launching himself at Cub.

Alex very nearly sighed. It was blindingly clear to him that Wolf favoured his right side, and tended to go for the 'brute force' technique. While that may work against lesser opponents, it wouldn't work on Alex, as it was as obvious as a tank and about as effective as a feather against the teenager.

Alex ducked the oncoming attack that could be seen from a mile off, and returned a warning jab to Wolf. The man and teenager circled each other for a minute, testing out the other's defences.

Then Wolf initiated another attack. It was clear that the SAS man wasn't holding anything back, and yet Alex had barely made an effort. Suddenly, Alex was angry. Why should he be restraining himself? Wolf had done nothing but insult and taunt him since his arrival at the camp. Let him deal with the consequences of his actions.

And with that thought, Alex decided to let go off his careful constraint, and fight the man properly. Conscious thought was all but gone now, as his instincts took over the fight.

Everyone saw the change in Cub. One minute he was cautiously avoided Wolf's attacks, and the next Wolf was on the floor, being beaten unmercifully.

Alex knew what he was doing - at least some part of him did. But the assassin in him had taken over. Wolf was effectively getting the beating of his life. Alex's aim was not to kill Wolf, but to give him as much pain as possible without breaking anything. The man would be black and blue from head to toe tomorrow.

Alex finished with Wolf, and turned to the rest of the crowd.

"Who's next?" The assassin asked in a cold, unforgiving voice.

"What do you mean?" Eagle asked apprehensively.

"You are testing me in physical combat. Who's next?" It was said as if the teenager thought it was obvious as to what he meant. Like everyone should understand. Like they all were doing something wrong.

"Umm... "

"Get on with it!" Alex was back in Malagasto. He could see all of the other assassins surrounding him, waiting to attack. But Alex had had enough of waiting for them to make the first move. So he decided to attack first.

Snake was winded as something hit him in the stomach. He looked up, and saw Cub preparing to attack again. What was the kid doing? They weren't going to fight him!

But suddenly Snake had to defend himself from Cub's second attack. Everyone could see the men's sock as he blocked the barrage of the teenager's blows. Eagle tried to step in and restrain Cub, but all he got for his effort was a series of blows to his torso. It was scary how the teenager fought them with no emotion, as if they didn't mean anything to him, or that he didn't know where he was. Eagle caught himself wondering if Cub was completely sane.

Alex was frustrated. Why were the assassins not attacking him? This was meant to be his final test, to prove he was ready to go on a mission. Alex renewed his attack with increased vigour.

The SAS men surrounding the fighter could see that the situation was getting dangerous. The teenager just wasn't stopping. Hawk, the team leader of F-unit, decided that enough was enough. He signalled to the rest of his unit, who nodded with grim understanding.

F-unit attacked Alex from all sides. Normally, one SAS unit could overcome one singular attacker without too much difficulty. But they hadn't met Alex yet. Within a minute of deadly fighting, two members were unconscious, and the other two had retreated severely injured. Luckily the teenager didn't seem to be out to kill them. Yet. Everyone had seen Cub take down the unit - a feat that no of them had ever seen before - and the teenager looked like he had barely broken a sweat. And he was still attacking the remains of K-unit, who by now was down to just Tiger, as Snake and Eagle were out cold due to particularly vicious blows to the head.

The situation was calling for desperate measures now. Lynx took his gun, and armed it with a tranquilizer dart. He aimed carefully at Cub, overruled his conscience that was screaming at him for shooting at a teenager, and fired.

Alex felt a dart hit his shoulder. That was against the rules! In combat testing, one tested combat, not dodging darts. Already he could feel his reflexes slowing down. But he had been doing so well! Roughly half of his opponents were down - surely that should be enough to pass? Just in case, Alex was determined to fight to the bitter end.

Tiger was shocked. He had seen Lynx fire something at Alex - which had to be a tranquilizer - and the dart was clearly embedded in the teenager's shoulder. But Cub's attacks had barely slowed. The sedative should have knocked him out a minute ago, and yet Cub was _still_ fighting.

Then as soon as it had started, it ended. The assassin dropped to the ground, unconscious, with no energy left in his body. The men left standing looked around at the aftermath of what definitely hadn't been a combat test.

* * *

**Was that enough action? :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry about the delay - I have had mountains of work to get through recently. It 's a bit of a filler chapter, but it should set up the next one nicely. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 10: Hello, Old Friend

Alex woke in an unfamiliar bed. It looked like he was in a hospital of some sort, but as to why he was here, Alex had no clue. The last thing that he remembered was starting to fight Wolf in the physical combat assessment - but what had happened next? Suddenly Alex felt cold. Wolf hadn't beaten him, had he? As soon as the thought entered his mind, Alex froze, before realising that something was not quite right with him and his thought processes ever since he had woken up. There was no way that Wolf would ever be able to overpower him - in fact, only a select few could boast of ever being able to do that, an even smaller group of which that were not dead yet. The key word being yet.

Then realisation struck the spy. He must have been drugged! Alex immediately started to reconsider his situation, because whenever he had awoken from a drugged sleep before, it had always been because someone had caught up with him. In a bad way.

Could it be the work of Scorpia? Alex wasn't sure. He still had yet to work out what had happened in the combat assessment that had landed him here - the scenario of Wolf winning the fight firmly ruled out of the list of possibilities. Instead of waiting for something to happen, be it bad or good, Alex decided to take matters into his own hands, and try to ascertain where he was. There was no way at he would lose the element of surprise whilst there was still a chance that the situation was hostile. If Scorpia had found him... Alex decided to deal with that problem if it came.

Looking around him for any clues or hints that it would be a bad idea to get up, the spy determined that it should be safe. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, and attempted to stand.

Before having to sit down again straight afterwards.

This drug that they had given him - whoever 'they' were - made Alex feel very dizzy and light-headed as soon as he tried to stay vertical. But the teenager was determined, and forced himself to get up. He had dealt with worse before, and a mere (massive) headache was not going to stop him.

Swaying slightly, Alex made his way over to the only door in the room and opened it to a crack. No one was in sight. Good. It just made his job easier. Alex crept out into the corridor silently, his dizziness forced to the back of his mind by more pressing concerns.

The spy could see natural light coming from the glass door at the end of the passage, which he presumed was the exit, but strangely enough, he hadn't seen one living being as he made his break for freedom. It was very odd, and therefore Alex was inclined to believe that he was still at the SAS camp, because if Scorpia or another 'friend' had caught up with him, it was guaranteed that there would be much more security. He wouldn't dismiss the idea completely, but it was looking less and less likely now.

By if he was still in the SAS camp, how did he get into this building? And why was he here? Alex felt like he was missing a vital part of a jigsaw puzzle, that when completed, would allow him to see what had happened, because at the moment he didn't have a clue.

Alex reached the door, and peered cautiously out of the glass, first checking to see where he was, and secondly, to check that no one had seen him so far. What he could see confirmed his suspicions about where he was. Alex recognised the cabins that housed the SAS units, and he could vaguely see the men training in the distance. So he was definitely a the SAS camp, which relaxed the spy slightly, as it was much less likely here that there was any massive danger for him to worry about.

Hoping that nobody would miss him, or that he wasn't causing himself any trouble later on, Alex slipped out of the building and quietly made his way over to the woods, his sanctuary. It would allow him some time to think, and to try to sort out the gap in his memory, so he could figure out why he had been drugged in the SAS camp itself of all places. Alex had never heard of it happening before - at least, not in a situation remotely similar to his.

Before he knew it, Alex sub-consciousness had led him to the same tree as last time. He was just about to start climbing, when he heard the sounds of people coming in his direction. Alex listened closer, and to his horror, now distinguished the voices of children. And in this SAS camp, the sounds of youth only meant one thing.

Brookland.

* * *

Tom was exhausted. He didn't know how Alex did it.

After the sergeant had left with Alex earlier that day, L-unit had quickly taken charge. Cabins were assigned - one for the girls, and one for the boys - and Tom did notice that there wasn't a spare bed in the boy's cabin for Alex. He hoped that his friend wasn't in trouble already.

But then came the real torture. L-unit had taken them on a five kilometre jog, that felt like it had taken hours of running to finish. Tom thought of himself as quite fit and healthy, and so it had come as a shock when his misconceptions were found to be just that, false. By the end of the third kilometre, Tom was ready to give up his beloved PlayStation to be able to have a rest. But he knew that whining to the SAS men would only incur more punishment - Alex's tales had told him that much at least, though he had thought that his friend had exaggerated when he had told of the exercises that he had to do when he came here the first time.

Unfortunately, some of the 'Brookies,' as they were now called, didn't have Alex's tales to guide them. And if the looks on L-unit's faces were anything to go by, Tom had reckoned that they were in for much worse once their 'light jog' had finished. And he had been right.

For every complaint that had been uttered, L-unit had made them do five sit-ups, even though they all looked at the point of exhaustion from the run. He himself had been near to collapsing, but had thankfully managed to pull through, as the taunting from the SAS men would have been very annoying if he had fainted, if not downright unpleasant.

Then, finally, the Brookies had been allowed to rest. For ten minutes. Tom had thought that it was a joke when one of the SAS men had told them that their rest was over, and from seeing some of the others' faces, they couldn't either. Some 'adventure holiday' this was turning out to be. L-unit had already made it clear that they hated the intruders in their camp, but it wasn't like the Brookies could do anything about it. They were literally stuck here for the entire month. Huge whoop.

After the teenagers had completed the swimming, and the press ups, they were told to go back to their cabins before dinner. L-unit had looked particularly gleeful when they reminded the group of the large amounts of homework they were me at to complete over the duration of the trip, whilst in their current utter state of exhaustion. Tom knew that he would never get any done, as he was way too tired to even try simple sums like 2+2 at the moment, let alone essays on two stupid poems that didn't make sense on their own, the confusion even worse when they had to compare them. It was completely ridiculous. So Tom planned to spend the spare time sleeping or dozing to try to replenish some energy, which would be a far better use of his time than pointless homework.

The teenagers were walking back to their respective cabins, when Tom saw something in the corner of his eye. Squinting, as he tried to see through the thick foliage, Tom thought he saw a figure that resembled Alex's somewhat, observing the group from a distance. Making an excuse to the others, Tom decided to go and investigate, as he really wanted to speak to his best friend and find out what had happened to him after he had left the rest of the group. It was too secret to ask L-unit about it in front of the rest of the Brookies. It might be sensitive information, and Tom was not sure that even L-unit would have the clearance to know about Alex. Tom knew that he definitely didn't, but who cared about levels of security between best friends, when it was obvious that Alex needed someone to relieve his bad experiences with, as there was literally no one else that he could turn to with his secrets. Everyone deserved someone else to confide in.

Tom made his way through the trees to the spot where he had saw the figure. It was spooky, because now that he was there, he could see no one. Not even a broken twig on the ground to indicate that someone had been there previously - Tom felt slightly silly checking e the ground, but it was what they did in the spy films, so it must work. Tom had just about convinced himself that he had dreamed this person up (his exhaustion must have been causing him to hallucinate) when he heard a low whistle from above.

Tom looked up at the tree.

* * *

"Hello, old friend." A small smile could be seen.

"Alex?" Tom whispered. His friend looked very different. The teenager above him was dressed in standard army uniform, and it struck Tom how normal it looked on Alex compared to his usual school uniform. It also made his friend look much older, and more serious - it would be easy to believe that Alex was 24, maybe even older. Tom felt very odd at this realisation.

"Yep, it's definitely me, unless my evil clone has risen from the grave." Alex knew better than to joke about these things, as he knew that his nightmares would be horrific tonight consequently, but the look on Tom's face had been worth it.

"Evil clone." Tom repeated slowly. "You are joking, aren't you?" And the problem was that Tom was never sure. One could never be quite certain if the hardened spy inside his friend wasn't mocking you with an inside joke at your expense, that he alone knew the punch line to, or if he was deadly serious and you were missing a vital clue.

"No, Tom." Came the sombre reply. So Alex wasn't joking? Did he actually have an evil clone six feet under?

"I won't ask." Tom said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Thanks." Alex was glad. There was no way that he would voluntarily remember anything more about Ju - Him without remembering other things that should be locked up in the deep recesses of his mind forever.

"So where have you been?" Tom asked.

"Hmm... Starting from when I left with the sergeant?"

"Yes please."

With a sigh, Alex recounted his day so far. "Went with the sergeant. Got assigned to K-unit again. Ran off from K-unit when Wolf attacked me and I half-retaliated. Came back to be assessed. Ran the assault course. Got applauded by quite a few SAS men for my time. Fought Wolf in my physical combat test. Woke up in some infirmary -"

"Wait." Tom stopped his friend. "How did you get from the combat test to the infirmary?"

"Not a clue." Alex relied chirpily, before laughing at Tom's confused face. It felt good to laugh again. Alex had been the happiest he had been in a long time this day, and that was even with the less cheerful aspects. It said a lot about his quality of life overall.

"Okay, but who won the fight between you and Wolf? At least tell me that." Tom persisted.

"I don't know." And that was the truth. Alex could remember the start of the fight, but he had no recollection of getting knocked out, drugged, or even finishing the assessment one way or another. It was a slight worry for the spy.

But Alex decided to continue with his account. "So I woke up in some infirmary, before sneaking out here, the woods. Then I hear some noisy children coming in my direction, and realise that it would be you lot -"

Alex was stopped again. "It's the Brookies." Tom interrupted, and now it was Alex's turn to look confused, before Tom decided to enlighten him. "It's what L-units call us, amongst other less complimentary names, and it stuck."

"Right... Anyway, I heard the 'Brookies' -" Tom could hear the quote marks clearly, "- coming my way and I decided to observe, but then you saw me, and here we are."

"Busy day." Tom stated.

"Yeah."

"..."

"Look Alex," Tom started. "Do you want to come to our cabin later? The boys are alright, and it might do you some good to get away from your unit and Wolf for a bit. And, you might make some new friends."

Alex grimaced at the last comment. It was true that Tom was pretty much his only friend, but still... "I'm not sure."

"Please. It would be fun, and you don't have to tell them anything. You used to be their football captain, remember?"

And now all Alex had was Tom to discuss the latest sporting matches - when the spy actually managed to see them that is. It would be nice, and it might work, to have some company once in a while. What was the harm in trying?

"I'll give it a go." Alex consented.

Tom grinned. "Fantastic. See you at seven after dinner in cabin 13."

And there the teenagers parted.


End file.
